I heard on a radio news report this morning (and if it's on the radio then it must be true, right?), that according to an AOL (*snicker*) user survey, half of all bloggers list "therapy" as the reason they blog.

Or in my case, evidence of the need for.

Posted by: Ted at 05:59 AM | category: Square Pegs
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I am still employed. To my mind, it was touch and go there for a bit.

See, last week I made an incredibly silly mistake which happened at precisely the wrong moment, resulting in spectacularly bad results all out of proportion to the size of the original mistake.

It took the entire team most of a day to put us back on track, and the fact that it's the beginning of a new fiscal year only added to the festivities. There was no finger pointing or gnashing of teeth, just professionals digging in and making things right.

Our boss was on vacation last week. I stressed big-time all weekend about this morning, and whether I would still have a job. I got the expected (and deserved) ass chewing, and then we moved on.

But the back of my neck is still cringy, and I've become rather maniacal about double-checking and triple-checking things. A little late, but better than never.

Posted by: Ted at 07:24 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I'm sorry, but I laughed so hard at this. Warning: animal lovers or people without a sense of humor should NOT click that link.

Thanks to the Llama Butchers for the link.

Posted by: Ted at 08:14 AM | category: Links
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Wow, it's been awhile, eh?

Someone was kind enough to scan and post a whole heap of Players Cigarette cards. This particular set of 85 cards is of Actresses, and were released during the late 1930's (from clues like "her latest film was...").

I'll post one of these every once in a while, with a couple of simple links to IMDB.com or a bio if I can find one. You might be surpirsed at some of the familiar names you'll see. The category is "Star Cards" (over on the right column), and you can click there at any time to see all that I've posted. Hope you enjoy.

(in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 06:53 AM | category: Star Cards
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Yesterday, Dawn surprised me by saying that this print was me.

I was so surprised that when she asked me what I saw in it, I babbled some incoherent nonsense. She was right though, because the image resonated and stayed with me. So here's an attempt to answer your question.

I see serenity and solitude. The empty basket tells me that the day is ending, the toil of the day is over, and there is time for reflection. The mountain in the distance is unchanging, and even when the moods of the volcano change, underneath is permanence.

It occurs to me that the rippling path underneath the tree may be water, but my first impression was that it was a road, perhaps signifying one's life, with the ups and downs that happen to everyone. I also think it significant that the difficulty of navigating the road is trivial compared to the mass of the mountain beyond, or even to the lesser permanence of the tree itself, which live far longer than any single person.

I suck at this introspection stuff.

Posted by: Ted at 08:02 PM | category: Square Pegs
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1 This isn't cheesecake pinups and zombies.

Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2005 07:15 PM (l+W8Z)

2 This is yet another fascinating side to the Ted we all know and adore.

Posted by: dawn at October 09, 2005 07:43 PM (Dh1V0)

3 Maybe it's just a guy stuck in a tree?

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at October 09, 2005 08:27 PM (ics4u)

4 Dude, it's art. It's deep and shit.

If you want "guy stuck in a tree", see Norman Rockwell's "Proctologist Practical Joker".

Posted by: Ted at October 10, 2005 07:52 AM (+OVgL)

5 Interesting. To me, the empty basket would signify that the person hasn't done the task yet [like, maybe, going to town for groceries], saw a good place to stop for a rest, and is enjoying the view before going on.

Projection works.

Posted by: owlish at October 10, 2005 11:30 AM (bJF7u)

6 Seems t'me that the empty basket represents the boy's limitations. He packed some food and went off to reach the mountain, but the food is gone and he seems no closer. He is staring at the unreachable, knowing that he must turn around and go back home. Either he is thinking "Some day I will pack a basket big enough to last me 'til I reach that mountain," or "There ain't no way in hell I'm ever gonna get to that mountain so I think I'll just sit here for a while and appreciate what I CAN know about it. It's probably alot prettier from here, anyway."

Posted by: Tuning Spork at October 10, 2005 08:50 PM (jNDp0)

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It's all in the details.

With all the rain we've been having the past two days (measured in inches), our basement is flooding a little bit. So I've been doing the towels on the floor, spin and dry, sop up the excess from the carpet with the cleaner, etc. That's the hassle part of it. The benefit side is that the creeks around us are all full to bursting, and when I went to let the dogs out this morning, you can hear the water rushing in the background. Very nice.

The Carnival of the Recipes is up over at the Glittering Eye. There are the usual collection of outstanding dishes for every taste, contributed by people from all over the world. Go check it out.

Last week I was in the back upstairs bedroom (3rd floor of our townhouse), painting near the window, when I was startled by a flash just outside the glass. I witnessed a magnificent little aerial battle as a large blackbird was chased off by one of our local hawks. They were like two nimble fighter jets, wings extended, banking and darting as the blackbird tried to shake the hawk from his tail. The hawk was close enough that, had he wanted, he could have snatched a tail feather from the blackbird with his talons. They fell two stories and, at the last second the blackbird broke hard left, over the back fence and out of the area. The hawk leveled out and glided across the back meadow to the wood, where he perched in a tall tree and stayed for a while, as if surveying for further intruders.

When I got home last night I checked on the hockey scores and noted that Brian's St. Louis Blues were in the process of whooping on my beloved Sharks. This morning I inteded to go find a Blues logo to post here, in accordance with the prophesy the rules of the Whoopass Jamboree, when lo and behold, I discovered that the Sharks had come back to win. Brian is a better sport about it than I, because I'd probably have to create an extended entry to protect innocent eyes from my cursing and ranting.

In related news, Victor beat me in the first week matchup of our blogger fantasy hockey league. I'm completely lost as to how this league works and what the rules are, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Not an excuse, just sayin'. Congrats Victor, let's hope Bondra can keep it up, eh?

Finally, yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day walking through several Smithsonian art museums with Dawn. We started at the Hirschhorn, and afterwards (like Victor mentioned) walked down the street in the pouring rain to see the Freer and Sackler galleries. Memorable.

I want to go again in better weather, to experience Directions - Janet Cardiff.

We now return you to your regular Rocket Jones program of cheesecake pinups and zombies.

Posted by: Ted at 08:05 AM | category: Links
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1 Heckuva comeback by me.

On another note: You poo-poo head. I was trying to get Ovechkin, but you were better positioned waiver-wise than I! POO-POO HEAD!

Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2005 09:31 AM (l+W8Z)

2 Forgot to mention--the week ends tonight, so you still have a chance.

Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2005 09:38 AM (l+W8Z)

3 victor, please explain the waiver process to me. I have no idea how these leagues handle that. What makes someone on waivers vs. a plain ol' pickup?

Oh, and NEENER NEENER.

Posted by: Ted at October 09, 2005 09:49 AM (+OVgL)

4 If a player is cut (like how I just dropped Kolzig) they're on waivers for three days. At that time, anyone can pick up the player but the manager with the lowest waiver number (1, for instance) gets a higher priority for that player. If they get that player, the manager is moved to the bottom of the waiver list (8th position). In this case, you and I probably put in a bid for Ovechkin, but at the time my waiver number was 6 (I think). Yours was five, or lower, and therefore you got him based on your having a lower waiver number. But now you're on the bottom of the waiver pile until someone else gets someone off waivers, when you'll move up to 7th.

Posted by: Victor at October 09, 2005 11:25 AM (l+W8Z)

5 Ted, you were at the Hirshorn and you didn't slide over to Air and Space to see the SpaceShipOne, installed in the Milestones of Flight gallery just this last week?

Posted by: buckethad at October 09, 2005 08:52 PM (Qgvr0)

6 Actually, we were on our way towards the Air and Space when we decided to backtrack towards the other two. Since I get to the Air and Space more often than the rest, I'll see SpaceShipOne eventually.

Now, if anyone would like to get together and head out to the Udvar-Hazy one Saturday...

Admission is free but parking is $12, so taking a car full just makes sense.

Posted by: Ted at October 09, 2005 09:49 PM (+OVgL)

7 Victor, thanks for explaining the waiver process.

Posted by: Ted at October 09, 2005 09:51 PM (+OVgL)

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Everyone welcome Brandon to the Jamboree.

He's selected the Los Angeles Kings.

By the way, Brandon, my Sharks logo is 204x193. I just wanted to make sure you make plenty of room for it, since you'll be displaying it often this season.

The players:

Machelle and David: Detroit Red Wings
Frinklin: Vancouver Canucks
Brian J: St. Louis Blues
Tom: Philadelphia Flyers
Derek: Colorado Avalanche
Gir: Calgary Flames
Grand Moff Trojan: Colorado Avalanche
Tilesey: Toronto Maple Leafs
Cal Tech Girl: Carolina Hurricanes
Victor: Washington Capitals
Michele: New York Rangers
Brandon: Los Angeles Kings

Yours Truly: San Jose Sharks

Complete rules - and there's not many - can be found here.

Posted by: Ted at 06:50 AM | category: Balls and Ice
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Last Wednesday, October 5th, was the 40th birthday of Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy.

Posted by: Ted at 11:44 AM | category: Balls and Ice
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All right, this is way late, but since I use Rocket Jones as my online flight log, you get to read it or skip it.

This launch was one of our monthly club launches, sponsored by NOVAAR. Held at Great Meadow Equestrian Center on 9/11/2005, the weather was beautiful and the wind ranged from near calm to quite brisk. The biggest problem was that it was blowing diagonally across the field, directly towards the biggest patch of woods bordering the field.

I pulled a shift as Launch Controller, and also made several flights of my own.

1. Angel - D12-5 - This ring-fin hadn't flown for a couple of years, but she made an excellent comeback flight.

2. Snitch - D12-0 / C6-0 - I chad-staged this plastic flying saucer from Estes. Great flight, and it always gets a lot of attention with the big motor hanging out from underneath.

3. Pacifyer - D12-5 - Arrow-straight boost and good recovery for my flying blood-dripping battleaxe.

4. YJ-218 - C6-7x2 - Perfect ignition of both engines. Great flight.

5. Phoenix - H180 White Lightning, medium delay - Loud and smokey, and after the motor burnout you could hear her fins whistling as she coasted to apogee. She suffered the only damage of the day, when she landed on one lower fin and the body tube partially delaminated. Easy fix, and the fin is still rock solid.

6. Barenaked Lady - F24-7 - This flight was just plain stupid. I put a big honkin' motor in a large but very lightweight rocket. She screamed off the pad, arced ever so slightly into the wind, and landed less than 50 yards away. Only on low-wind days. Sweet!

7. Odin's Spear - B6-6 - Another excellent flight from Vertical Force's first kit offering. Rich was kind enough to give me one of the new kits in the package for helping to test the prototype. It's numbered too. Cool!

So that was it for my flights. Another excellent rocket flying day that are far too far apart.

Posted by: Ted at 04:58 AM | category: Rocketry
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Over at Mozongo they've posted my latest review. This time it's an excellent handwriting recognition application. Plenty of screen captures accompany my usual wit and wisdom *ahem*, so head on over and check it out.

Posted by: Ted at 05:34 PM | category: PDA Reviews
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(This will be bumped to the top once in a while as updates happen)

It's perfectly ok for more than one person to select a team, so just because someone else has declared for your favorite doesn't mean you can't play.

The players:

Machelle and David: Detroit Red Wings
Frinklin: Vancouver Canucks
Brian J: St. Louis Blues
Tom: Philadelphia Flyers
Derek: Colorado Avalanche
Gir: Calgary Flames
Grand Moff Trojan: Colorado Avalanche
Tilesey: Toronto Maple Leafs
Cal Tech Girl: Carolina Hurricanes
Victor: Washington Capitals
Michele: New York Rangers
Yours Truly: San Jose Sharks

1. If you have a favorite hockey team, place their logo somewhere on your front page. Let me know.
2. Every time your team plays someone else's team in the Jamboree, the loser must place the winner's logo (and a link) on their front page for 24 hours.
3. You don't have to actually be a Munuvian to play.
4. Trash talkin' is encouraged.

Posted by: Ted at 12:14 PM | category: Balls and Ice
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1 Nobody picked the Florida Panthers. I take it they must suck...

I'm thinking about it...

Posted by: Bou at September 10, 2005 09:14 PM (5JHEt)

2 they do, but that's no excuse

Posted by: caltechgirl at September 30, 2005 05:51 PM (Eb5t4)

3 If I could figure out how to set the permissions to actually edit my page, I'd so totally root for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alas, I shall watch from afar.

Posted by: dawn at October 01, 2005 12:11 PM (Dh1V0)

4 nobody has the Oilers yet...Good...I don't have to put anything up just yet...

Posted by: Derek at October 06, 2005 05:30 PM (FloaD)

5 Hey, I want in. I want to take the Canucks but since Frinklin has already taken them I will use my new hometown team, the Los Angeles Kings. I will probably be putting up other people's links quite often.

Posted by: Brandon at October 08, 2005 04:46 AM (D0AYM)

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Quick notes and thoughts:

Last night, every player in the NHL wore a special patch on their sweaters. After the first period, they all changed and the game-worn jerserys will be auctioned off at NHL.com to raise money for hurricane relief.

Alexander Ovechkin is scary-good.

His first NHL check was so fierce it dislodged a support beam. He refused to let his team lose, twice answering with goals less than 90 seconds after the opponents took the lead. And when his face appeared on the large scoreboard, he stuck out his tongue and flashed a charismatic smile.

The Halpern-Zubrus-Ovechkin line is clicking, with Zubrus picking up the Capitals third goal and an assist, and center Halpern dishing up three assists.

My favorite "duh" moment was when one announcer asked the other if he noticed that the team didn't seem as sharp or as quick as normal and what could be the reason. His answer? "They haven't played in fifteen months!"

Here's your sign.

Posted by: Ted at 11:49 AM | category: Balls and Ice
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Rocket racing. Real rockets, real pilots.

A private group of rocketeers has banded together to create the Rocket Racing League with aims at blurring the line between competitive racing and human spaceflight. Their vision: A fleet of at least 10 stock rocket planes flown by crack pilots through a three-dimensional track 5,000 feet above the Earth.

"Imagine not one, but 10 of these fire-breathing dragons flying around a race course." -- Peter Diamandis

One of these visionaries is Peter Diamandis, who also founded the $10 million Ansari X Prize suborbital competition for private piloted spacecraft.

The liquid oxygen/kerosene fuel mix is expected to have a burn time of about four minutes, which would force pilots to repeatedly shut down their engines and glide, then restart as needed to surpass opponents, explained Searfoss, who will demonstrate the method during the upcoming prototype demonstration.

Because of their fuel type, X-Racers should also generate a 20-foot flame easily visible from the ground, which will be vital for spectators, Diamandis said.

These people aren't crazy, they're looking to foster greater interest among the population for civilian spaceflight.

Better duck, NASCAR.

Thanks to Chris Hall at Spacecraft for the pointer. He's got some interesting background tie-in information too.

Posted by: Ted at 05:41 AM | category: Rocketry
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So you know I love this site full of the history of cookies!

Thanks to James at Starfighter's Model Blog for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 05:04 AM | category: History
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Used to be, there were a lucky few who got to write blurbs for trashy paperbacks:

No man could satisfy her. Four men tried to tame this wildcat who knew no end to the daisy-chain game of sin savagery... until she met a woman as explosive as herself. Together they stormed into an arena of perverted pleasures that knew no parallel except in hell. -- I Want You, by Lester Lake

Nowadays, I think they hang out in AOL chat.

Posted by: Ted at 04:14 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Look at this picture (reasonably safe for work). The ladies pictured are topless, but the body paint is good enough to hide that fact except under close and careful examination.

Disregarding everything except the spirit of fun and adventure, could you do that?

Posted by: Ted at 05:44 AM | category: Square Pegs
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He's a good interview:

"Just put down 'bleep.' It's OK. Lots of things I say in the paper have bleeps in them." -- Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen

He's a good interview, with a little judicious editing.

Posted by: Ted at 04:48 AM | category: Square Pegs
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From John at TexasBestGrok (who's blog turned 2 the other day - yay!):

Context: Insects are specialists (drone, workers, queens, etc), where humans are generalists.

The original Heinlein:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Items I've done are in bold, notes and explanations follow.

* Change a diaper - cloth for the first child, disposable for the third, a mix for the middle kid.
* Plan an invasion - in real life a security exercise designed to steal nuclear weapons, on a gameboard for entire continents and galaxies.
* Butcher a hog - deer, pheasant and fish.
* Conn a ship - my Uncle's sailboat, which he sometimes sailed to Hawaii.
* Design a building - the largest that ever made it past the paper stage was a shed.
* Write a sonnet - I've written some pretty bad poetry, but no sonnets of any quality
* Balance accounts - enough to get by.
* Build a wall - wood, brick, and maybe stone next summer.
* Set a bone - a friend's broken finger, although I never want to have to do it again.
* Comfort the dying - I've been fortunate in my life.
* Take orders - thirteen years in the Air Force.
* Give orders - ditto.
* Cooperate
* Act alone
* Solve equations - it's not math... it's not math...
* Analyze a new problem - welcome to computer programming
* Pitch manure - and hay and ground oats (?), family with dairy farms
* Program a computer - my job.
* Cook a tasty meal - check.
* Fight efficiently - fight? yeah. won? yeah. lost? oh yeah.
* Die gallantly - more than once in a simulated fashion while doing security exercises for the Strategic Air Command.

Hey, that's more than I expected!

Posted by: Ted at 05:21 PM | category: Links
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I've been enjoying the hyperventilation going on among some conservatives over President Bush's nominee for the high court. Mostly because I remember the chorus of "he's the President so he should get to choose anyone he wants to join the Supreme Court."

Guess what? He did.

That ol' "be careful what you wish for" bites y'all in ass again.

Posted by: Ted at 05:01 PM | category: Square Pegs
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All kinds of eBook related news, information and links at TeleRead.

Posted by: Ted at 05:48 AM | category: Links
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